June 18, 2012

Blueberries cover my blueberry bush, with more turning blue everyday! It is such a wonderful harvest, the plump blue berries just asking to be picked and eaten. One of our favorite things to do with ours is to make blueberry bread with lemon glaze – it is sweet and tart and moist and delicious, all at the same time. The recipe came from a grocery store advertisement, but it is one of my favorites. Around here, that warm loaf of goodness won’t last very long!

May 3, 2012

So, here’s the deal – I don’t like cold pizza. Why, then, is it that my favorite food in this North End bakery is exactly that? It may be because of the way the thick crust, the mildly flavored tomato sauce, and the Italian cheese sprinkled over the top come perfectly together to make the most wonderful pizza flavor and texture combination ever! This is a must stop at an amazing national treasure if you are anywhere near the North End. . This family-owned bakery has been serving up handmade goodness for over 100 years. Their white bread loaves are another item not to miss. They are that perfect combination of crunchy crust breaking away to reveal the soft yeasty goodness of the bread inside.

October 23, 2011

The only thing better than a warm, golden Parker House roll straight from the Parker House in Boston is making (and eating) your own rolls and loaves using the actual recipe at home. I have never made rolls where the dough balls are coated in butter top and bottom and then folded on half, wrapping that buttery goodness inside the roll-to-be. Once cooked, this bread is the finest, smoothest bread with the sweet slightly salty flavor of the sweet cream butter baked into every bite. Eaten hot with butter (add strawberry jam or some apple butter for a totally decadent treat), there just is nothing better. The recipe is on the Parker House website and it is one recipe that really works and is absolutely worth the effort.

“It is what it is,” namely fresh seafood served hot and fast in a no-frills warehouse on Boston’s Fish Pier. But, don’t let appearances deceive you, for onto those crowded rows of wooden tables lands platter after platter of fried shrimp and scallops and bright red lobsters. The menu is a simple two-sided sheet, fried seafood on one side and broiled selections on the other. Paper placements with instructions for how to eat a lobster mark your place. Before you even get settled, a heaping platter of hot, toasted garlic bread lands in front of you. Order your fried scallops and your popcorn shrimp and in no time, plates overflowing with seafood piled onto hot fries, coleslaw, and tartar sauce magically appear. Fresh seafood on the Boston waterfront makes a perfect dinner combination!

The Parker House in Boston is famous for many things- John Wilkes Booth stayed here in the months before Lincoln’s assassination and Charles Dickens lived here for a time (you can see his room key in a display case in the lobby)-but it is most famous for two culinary achievements, the Parker House roll and the Boston Cream pie, both of which are still served here. The rolls are light, hot, and deliciously yeasty, clearly made to be the perfect companion to real butter! If you want to take some with you next time you are in Boston, just walk through the elegant lobby with it’s carved wood and gold accents to the host of the Parker House restaurant and he will sell you a box (or two) of hot Parker House rolls. I am sure that when you feel the warmth of those golden rolls exuding their yeasty goodness, you will stop just outside and sample this tasty bit of history for yourself!

September 24, 2011

The Cheese Shop is an eclectic gourmet food and cheese shop that just also happens to make some of the best sandwiches in Williamsburg. Try the Roast Beef with Swiss Cheese on French Bread – and, don’t forget the House Dressing, a smooth mayonnaise and mustard-spicy mixture that perfectly compliments their sandwiches. The bread is soft on the inside but with a crunchy crust. If you are lucky, they will have some bread ends for sale; buy a container of House Dressing and dip away at a perfect combination! Or, try the Combo, country ham and turkey with cheese (Edam is really good on this one). And, don’t forget dessert. They have delicious squares of raspberry cheesecake brownie or lemon bars – all rich and moist and delicious. Once you are stuffed, take a look around, as there are some wonderful finds here. You might take home a make- your-own mozarella cheese kit or maybe some paella rice imported from Spain or any number of interesting and unique food items.

August 14, 2011

Bread is just one of those perfect foods and one of my favorites is the sourdough bread at When Pigs Fly. Have a slice with Kate’s Butter and you have perfection! The rolls are great, too, and if you are adventurous, try the Sicilian Green Olive and Hot Cherry Pepper Bread – it is amazing!